Taxes and Medical Deductions — a Heads Up

My friend Sharon Feder from Lynxcare sent me this article from the LA Times about taking your fair share of medical deductions when it comes time to put together your tax return this year.

(OK– detour here — why do they call it a tax return when it’s so rare that they return much of our taxes? But I digress….)

The article is a good overview of what the medical deduction is meant to be, and to accomplish, and for whom. It states that most of us won’t be eligible because our medical costs won’t reach that threshold that makes them deductible…. but if you have someone who is chronically ill in your family, or if you have a one-time major problem….

I was there. In 2004, when I was misdiagnosed, I took a BIG hit — almost $7500 out of my pocket — and that was after I insisted I would not pay the doctors who were wrong (and I didn’t.) The point is — that $7500 and its associated tax deductions made a difference in how much I had to pay. It didn’t make a huge difference, but as the gentleman who is quoted in the LA Times article said — it softened the blow.

If you have had big time medical expenses this year, make sure you have someone who knows how to do these things tackle the tax deduction portion for you. It will be worth it — and you deserve a break.